Water

What happens to rain when it hits Berlin soil? Does it seep away, evaporate or flow directly into the sewerage system? Check out our maps to find out where precipitation goes – can you find your neighbourhood? More information

Six sewage plants and almost 10,000 kilometres of sewerage network handle both waste water and rainwater in Berlin. In older buildings in the city centre, precipitation and waste water share the same drains. Outside the S-Bahn ring, the sewerage system has separate drains. Check out our overview. More information

Berlin records its groundwater levels daily. An important undertaking, as the city supplies its own water needed for living and working. Discover what groundwater is exactly and how it is formed and monitored here. More information

What temperature is our groundwater 20, 40 or 100 metres below ground? Berlin started recording this in the 1980s. Find out whether it makes any difference what sits above ground, be it Alexanderplatz, the Großer Tiergarten or an industrial plant. More information

Berlin’s groundwater is sometimes closer than you’d think. Growing consumption, however, has depleted our groundwater levels over the centuries. Although data suggests that 2009 was not a particularly wet year, the groundwater table was relatively high that year. More information

Our groundwater supply is ensured: rain that seeps away replenishes Berlin’s reserves underground. But half of the precipitation disappears, evaporates or ends up in the sewerage system. The actual amount varies greatly throughout Berlin. See for yourself. More information

If you live in Berlin, the groundwater may be closer to your basement than you think. People planning on building a house must therefore be aware of how high the water may rise in the future. Take a look at the numbers experts have predicted for three quarters of the Berlin area thus far. More information

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Köpenick or in the Panketal: if you’re building a percolation facility in Berlin, you need to know beforehand how high the groundwater will rise. An important starting point for your planning is the average of the expected highest levels for the year. This has been calculated for about half of Berlin’s area. More information

In Berlin, the rain’s way into the ground is often blocked by tarmac and concrete. Percolation facilities are built to help rainwater seep away regardless. The rock that lies below ground must be game, however, as water can easily seep through sand, for example, but not through boulder marl, which has a lower permeability. More information

Heating with geothermal energy? Sounds great! How much energy can be generated and how well does the ground cope with heat extraction? Find out here! More information

How long does it take for rain and other precipitation to reach the groundwater? This is important to know in case pollutants penetrate deeper layers of our ground when seeping away. Find out here how the need for groundwater protection is assessed. More information

What influences the quality of groundwater? Where does rainwater seep away? Which layers of rock does it traverse on its way into the ground? Discover here which aspects influence the quality of groundwater and to what extent. More information

Berlin can cover its drinking water needs completely from the groundwater below the city. Conservation zones around the pumping wells protect the water from being contaminated. Discover here how your drinking water supply is ensured. More information

Sometimes a thunderstorm is enough, sometimes it takes weeks of rain. Berlin faces flood risks, too, in parts of the catchment areas of flowing waters. An area is declared a flood area if flooding occurs at least once every 100 years. Berlin has six such areas. Click here to find out where exactly. More information

Which areas of Berlin are at risk of flooding? How many people or important cultural assets would be affected? And how often may we expect flooding? This kind of information is crucial for active flood protection and is presented here. More information

Berlin has a comprehensive heavy rainfall information map, serving as an initial guide. For some areas of Berlin, there are heavy rainfall hazard maps that provide detailed assessments of the extent of flooding, flood depths, and flow velocities for a variety of heavy rainfall scenarios. More information

Of Berlin’s waterways, it is only parts of the Havel and the Müggelsee that still display natural shores, sandbanks and undeveloped floodplains. We have changed nature; the morphology of our waters reflects this. Discover here how Berlin’s rivers and lakes measure up. More information

How much phosphorus is lurking in the Landwehrkanal and how much sulphate in the Spree? A myriad of measuring points dotted around the city collect data on the quality of water. Find out what influences the quality of lakes and rivers here. More information

Berlin’s waters flow sluggishly and are brimming with nutrients. Perfect conditions for algae to grow. When algae get out of hand, however, they deprive water of oxygen. Dive right into data discussing the quality of Berlin’s rivers and lakes for the period from 1993 to 2001. More information

Dammed up rivers and sewage water do not make for a hospitable home for our fish. Over centuries, the fish population in Berlin’s waters declined, therefore. In recent years, however, even species that had disappeared have returned. Check out here, what’s swimming around in which bodies of water. More information